Encounter with the Amazon

Riding along the river Beni, heading towards the Serere Reserve, I was filled with excitement and curiosity. For the first time in my life, I was about to encounter the famous Amazon rainforest, something I’ve dreamed of but never thought would actually happen. With Franciscans International - Bolivia we organized a eco-theological retreat in a beautiful reserve just outside the National Madidi Park, in Bolivia. From the documentaries and photos I expected to see beauty but it took living in the forest for 5 days to really understand the beauty is much deeper than any picture can capture, it’s like God’s breath is all around you in a strong and very powerful way, a way that fills you with peace and awe.

Walking from the river’s edge and into the rainforest to get to our cabins, we saw at least two different kinds of monkeys along the trail—the yellow monkey and the capuchin monkey—dancing along the branches of the giant trees in search of fruit. Immediately I noticed the humidity and the warmth, but rarely did the sun manage to touch our skin because of the thick natural roof of the branches and leaves we had above us. The cabin was a raised construction, with walls made of screen so all around us we saw the forest. I realized it was similar to camping except that we had modern mattresses and beds and there was no wall of the tent giving me the impression of being separated from nature, instead I saw it everywhere I turned and felt therefore more integrated (the brain is a funny thing).

 

 

 

There were twelve of us in our group and we divided up into three groups on the morning of the first full day, to go exploring with Severo, the guide assigned to our group as one of the members of the Madidi Travel/Eco-Bolivia team. We put all our trust in this man, and he was able to teach us a tremendous amount during the week. While quietly walking through the forest, he would spontaneously tell us to stop while he pointed out different plants, vines, trees or animals, what I would call the rainforest’s gems! He squatted down next to a big red tree root, made a little cut in it and out poured a white resin, which looked a lot like Elmer’s glue. The tree’s name is “Milk Milk” and with this natural glue, he took a leaf and stuck it to my ear so I had a natural earring.

The resin of other trees however, such as the Curari, is like venom and people use it to apply to the point of an arrow to use for hunting. My favorite tree was the Cachichira, whose trunk base was so broad that it looked like a giant skirt in mid-twirl, just gorgeous. One of the Cachichira lent the hollow inside of its trunk to a large clan of bats to rest during the daytime.

For a snack, our guide opened up a fruit for us that he picked from a tree. The fruit was “Monkey Head” and it had several large seeds inside with the fruit pulp covering the seeds and it was sweet with a texture similar to mango. Another day he picked up a different fruit, “Apple of the forest” and showed us how its magical juice could be applied to our skin and appear clear, but hours later turned into a dark tattoo. It was amazing! (they washed off completely in about 2 weeks) We were explained that these natural tattoos were used as camouflage by indigenous tribes in the forest. In addition to my tattoo, I also received more bug bites than ever before at one time in my life. To console myself, I tried to think, “well, I’m giving a part of me to the forest after it has given so much to me,” but in my itchiest moments, I just thought about scratching and how much I didn’t like the mosquitoes.

At night we went out in canoes to look at the stars, and it was another incredible sight to behold. The Milky Way was as clear as could be, and the bats were having a feast over the water. We also saw many caimans (like small alligators) which we could recognize for their eyes that glowed like candle flames when we shined our flashlights towards them. The night was spectacular and in order to distract me from the fear I felt towards the caimans, I arched my neck up, trying to record the image of the stars in their glory and the soothing silence around us.

Unfortunately, not everything in the Madidi mosaic is harmonious; there are many threats toward the Park itself and the area around it including the reserve we were in. Thousands and thousands of hectares of forest have been cut down in order to plant sugar cane and coca plants, in addition to excessive deforesting (in order to sell mahogany for example) and illegal hunting that takes place. Mining contaminates the rivers and waterways. If the Eco-Bolivia team, lead by Rosa María Ruiz, were not constantly monitoring, hunters and people wanting to cut down cedar and mahogany trees would have done away with a lot of the reserve. The animals are very smart, and according to our guide, who worked in other areas as well, many animals migrated to the reserve because they know they won’t be killed there and that there is actually food since the forest isn’t being destroyed. Because of this we were able to see puma tracks, wild hog tracks, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, butterflies and many different kinds of plants and trees.

As we reflected together throughout the week, we agreed that life was much simpler without electricity, phones, TVs, radios, computers, internet, and cars. There was a peace I experienced in the rainforest that I hadn’t experienced in a very long time, it was powerful and invigorating, I didn’t want to leave! I thought a lot about my family and friends in the US and wished I could transport them there to share in the amazing experience to see and feel and taste the sweetness of the forest. I was able to encounter creation’s song and its gentle melody continues playing in my heart, motivating me to be attentive to the sacred presence in all parts of creation, no matter where I find myself.

5 things I’m thankful for today: being able to have gone to the Serere Reserve; good hugs; skype to be able to talk with my family while they were on vacation; being in Cochabamba and working with some really great dedicated people; mint ice cream.